Composite ventilation member for ceiling coverings

ABSTRACT

A ventilation member composed of top and bottom component sections, which sections have holding flanges to secure soundabsorbing material between the sections, provides an economical and efficient ventilating system. The component sections are easily fastened, their design facilitates subsequent installation, and each component section has air passage openings.

United States Patent [191 Landheer [11] 3,831,506 [4 1 Aug. 27, 1974 COMPOSITE VENTILATION MEMBER FOR CEILING COVERINGS Hugo Arie Johan Landheer, Rotterdam, Netherlands Assignee: Hunter Douglas International N.V.,

Curacao, Netherlands Antilles Filed: Nov. 21, 1972 Appl. No.: 308,404

[75] Inventor:

US. Cl 98/41, 52/303, 52/495, 98/40 D Int. Cl F24f 7/00 Field of Search 98/40 D, 41, 40 DL; 52/303, 482, 484, 495

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1965 Brown et al. 98/40 D l/l966 Lambert 98/40 D 5/1966 Petterson 52/495 3,264,020 8/1966 De Ridder 52/495 3,266,408 8/1968 Palmquist 98/40 D 3,320,869 5/1967 Schach 913/41 R 3,410,042 1 H1968 Averill 98/40 D 3,537,544 11/1970 King 98/40 D 3,690,243 9/1972 Lambert 52/484 Primary Examiner-William E. Wayner Assistant Examiner-W. E. Tapolcai, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Rennie & Edmonds ABSTRACT A ventilation member composed of top and bottom component sections, which sections have holding flanges to secure sound-absorbing material between the sections, provides an economical and efficient ventilating system. The component sections are easily fastened, their design facilitates subsequent installation, and each component section has air passage openings.

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COMPOSITE VENTILATION MEMBER FOR CEILING COVERINGS The invention relates to a composite ventilation member for ceiling coverings, in particular for soundadvantages, and in particular permitting subsequent installation of the members.

This object has been accomplished, according to the invention, in that the ventilation member is composed of a top and a bottom component section, in that the component sections have horizontal holding flanges to secure tiles or the. like of sound-absorbing material, in that mutually engageable connection means are arranged on the component sections, and in that the top and the bottom component sections have air passage openings.

One advantage of the ventilation member according to the invention is that assembly of the two component sections, between the holding flanges of which the tiles of sound-absorbing materials are to be arranged, is simple, since the sections have merely to be snapped together. Another advantage consists in that, in virtue of the shape of the sections, they can be extruded, the ventilation openings being machined in the sections in a second operation. Sections of any length can be produced in this way thus almost completely eliminating the usual joints.

According to a refinement of the invention, the connection means are arranged on either side of the air passage openings, and are in the form of mutually engageable lock hooks with beveled surfaces. This conformation of the connection means permits easy assembly of the two sections and provides secure retention of the assembled parts. The connection means arranged on either side of the air passage openings do not interfere with the ventilation cross section.

The air passage openings may be in the form of air slits in the top section and air holes in the bottom section. According to another development, a lengthwise displaceable strip with apertures is arranged overthe air holes.

With this strip, the flow of air out of the ventilation member can be regulated.

According to another development, the ventilation member is distinguished in that two bounding surfaces arranged at a distance from each other and in lengthwise direction of the section extend vertically downward from the holding flanges of the bottom component section, serving to baffle the stream of air, these vertical bounding surfaces projecting into the gap between neighboring panels.

According' to still another embodiment, the ventilation member is distinguished in that hook shaped centering segments extend vertically downward from the holding flanges of the bottom component section, serving to center the ceiling covering panels.

These centering segments are arranged to provide an attractive appearance for a sound-absorbing ceiling by keeping the neighboring panels equidistant from the ventilation member. The centering segments may be in contact with the panels. They do not serve to support the panels. 7

Upward bends on the holding flanges of the top component section facilitate assembly of boards of soundabsorbing material with the ventilation section, because the holding flange exerts a clamping action on the boards.

On the under side of the bent margins of the flange, back hooks may be arranged, to catch in the sheets of sound-absorbing material and thus provide better retention.

Embodiments of the invention by way of example, exhibiting further features of the invention, are represented in the drawing, where:

FIG. 1 shows a pictorial sectional view of the ventilation member installed in a ceiling;

FIG. 2 shows a sectional view clarifying the assembly of the componentsections of the ventilation member;

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the component sections assembled, with a board of sound-absorbing material inserted;

FIG. 4 shows a top view at the line lV-IV in FIG. 2;

The top section 12 has a cover plate whose surface is interrupted by air slits l in lengthwise direction. Laterally to the air slits 1, the cover plate has holding flanges 7 extending beyond the width of the gap between the two sheets 6 and having bends 13 at the edges. On the under side, laterally to the air slits 1, connection means 4 extend vertically downward, their lower portion being hook shaped with beveled surfaces. The hook shaped beveled surfaces are engageable in matching connection means 5, likewise hook shaped bevels, of the bottom section 11, as shown especially in FIG. 2. s a vThe bottom component section 11 has an upward directed moreor less U-shaped trough whose walls, erect upon the base surface, constitute the'connection means 5 above with their beveled hook shaped surfaces. In the base surface of section 11, air holes 2 are arranged. From the base, two bounding surfaces 3 arranged at a distance apart and in longitudinal direction of the section extend vertically downward, baffling the stream of air through the holes 2. On the outsides of the bounding surfaces 3, holding flanges 8.for the boards 6 are attached at right angles. From the holding flanges 8, hook shaped centering segments 9 extend vertically downward, holding the ventilation member centered between two panels 10. For this purpose, the centering segments 9 are hooked towards the center of component section 11.

FIG. 2 illustrates the assembly of the top component section 12 with the bottom component section 11. In assembly, the beveled surfaces of the hooked connection means 4, slide on each other, are elastically deformed, and become hooked together. On the base surface of the U-shaped trough of the bottom section 11 a strip 14 with apertures is slidably arranged, by which means the flow of air through holes 2 can be regulated. The arrangement and function of the strip 14 will be clear from the top view in FIG. 4.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the component sections 11 and 12 snapped together as well as the function of the upward bends 13 in'the holding flange 7. The bends l3 permit easy insertion of the sheets of sound-absorbing material 6. On the under sides of the bends 13, back hooks 16 are arranged. The hooks 16 increase the pressure on the sound-absorbing sheets 6.

FIG. 5 shows the lengthwise air holes or slits 1 of the top section 12 and the air holes 2 of the bottom section 11, that portion of the base surface of component section 11 in which the air holes are arranged being made thicker than the upper part, so that some vertical flow of air will take place in the air holes themselves. If the depth of the air holes were too small, an oblique emergence of the air would be possible, for example, and this might result in undesirable turbulence and hence loss of efficiency.

FIG. 6 shows a portion of an acoustic ceiling provided with ventilation members according to the invention and consisting of panels attached to supports, with sheets of sound-absorbing material 6 arranged above them.

F IG. 7 shows, in a sectional view, how the ventilation members meet a supporting rail running transverse to the panels and the members, with flanges having projecting tabs 17 to hold the generally C-shaped panels by the inner edges of their curved margins. In such an arrangement, portions 3 and 9 of the ventilation member are to be locally trimmed or cut out to enable the members to rest on the flanges of the rail 15. The ventilation means may alternatively be cut off along the dot-dash line Vlll in FIG. 7. In that case, the ventilation members will rest only on the margins of the panels. The sheets of sound-absorbing material extend beyond the supporting rail flange.

in the case of supporting rails without continuous flanges, other known fastening methods may be used.

lt is emphasized that the invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and represented in the drawings, and that other possible embodiments are within the scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A ventilating ceiling comprising a plurality of elongated ceiling panels supported with their lateral margins in spaced relationship, said panels providing the ceiling surface of a room, at least one ventilating means positioned in the space between the lateral margins of two adjacent panels, said ventilating means including an elongated upper part and a separate elongated lower part, said upper and lower parts being interfltted, said upper part having openings therethrough, said lower part having openings therethrough in ventilating communication with said first mentioned openings, said upper part having laterally extending flanges, said lower part having laterally extending flanges in generally parallel but spaced relationship to the flanges of said upper part, acoustical material positioned above said ceiling panels, the marginal edge of said acoustical material extending into the space between the flanges of said upper and lower parts and embraced therebe tween.

2. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of said ventilating means positioned in a plurality of spaces between lateral margins of adjacent panels.

3. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which an apertured slide is positioned between said upper and lower parts, and said slide is longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said ventilating means.

4. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which said upper part has a pair of spaced parallel walls extending downwardly, hooks on the lower edges of said walls, a pair of spaced parallel walls extending upwardly from said lower part, hooks on the upper edges of said last mentioned walls, and the hooks of said downwardly extending walls engaging the hooks of said upwardly extending walls to secure said upper and lower parts together in said interfitted relationship.

5. The ventilating ceiling of claim 4 in which there is an elongated chamber defined laterally by said upwardly and downwardly extending walls, and said openings in said upper part communicating with the openings in said lower part through said elongated chamber.

6. The ventilating ceiling of claim 5 including an apertured elongated slide positioned within said chamber, said slide being longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said chamber.

7. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which the vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is sufficient to prevent undesirable turbulence.

8. The ventilating ceiling of claim 7 in which said vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is greater than the vertical extent of the openings in said upper part.

9. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which said I lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.

10. The ventilating ceilings of claim 7 in which said lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.

11. The ventilating ceiling of claim 5 in which the vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is sufficient to prevent undesirable turbulence.

12. The ventilating ceiling of claim 11 in which said lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.

13. The ventilating ceiling of claim 12 including an apertured elongated slide positioned within said chamber, said slide being longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said chamber.

14. The ventilating ceiling of claim 13 in which the extending hook shaped member engaging the inner surlateral edges of said ceiling panels are curved upwardly face of a said upwardly curved lateral edge of a ceiling to provide a generally C shaped cross-section, and panel. the flanges of said lower part each have a downwardly 

1. A ventilating ceiling comprising a plurality of elongated ceiling panels supported with their lateral margins in spaced relationship, said panels providing the ceiling surface of a room, at least one ventilating means positioned in the space between the lateral margins of two adjacent panels, said ventilating means including an elongated upper part and a separate elongated lower part, said upper and lower parts being interfitted, said upper part having openings therethrough, said lower part having openings therethrough in ventilating communication with said first mentioned openings, said upper part having laterally extending flanges, said lower part having laterally extending flanges in generally parallel but spaced relationship to the flanges of said upper part, acoustical material positioned above said ceiling panels, the marginal edge of said acoustical material extending into the space between the flanges of said upper and lower parts and embraced therebetween.
 2. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which there are a plurality of said ventilating means positioned in a plurality of spaces between lateral margins of adjacent panels.
 3. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which an apertured slide is positioned between said upper and lower parts, and said slide is longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said ventilating means.
 4. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which said upper part has a pair of spaced parallel walls extending downwardly, hooks on the lower edges of said walls, a pair of spaced parallel walls extending upwardly from said lower part, hooks on the upper edges of said last mentioned walls, and the hooks of said downwardly extending walls engaging the hooks of said upwardly extending walls to secure said upper and lower parts together in said interfitted relationship.
 5. The ventilating ceiling of claim 4 in which there is an elongated chamber defined laterally by said upwardly and downwardly extending walls, and said openings in said upper part communicating with the openings in said lower part through said elongated chamber.
 6. The ventilating ceiling of claim 5 including an apertured elongated slide positioned within said chamber, said slide being longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said chamber.
 7. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which the vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is sufficient to prevent undesirable turbulence.
 8. The ventilating ceiling of claim 7 in which said vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is greater than the vertical extent of the openings in said upper part.
 9. The ventilating ceiling of claim 1 in which said lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.
 10. The ventilating ceilings of claim 7 in which said lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.
 11. The ventilating ceiling of claim 5 in which the vertical extent of said openings in said lower part is sufficient to prevent undesirable turbulence.
 12. The ventilating ceiling of claim 11 in which said lower part includes a pair of spaced parallel walls extending vertically downwardly, and said walls being positioned on opposite sides of the openings in said lower part whereby to aid in directing the ventilating air issuing from said openings.
 13. The ventilating ceiling of claim 12 including an apertured elongated slide positioned within said chamber, said slide being longitudinally slidable to adjust the flow of air through said chamber.
 14. The ventilating ceiling of claim 13 in which the lateral edges of said ceiling panels are curved upwardly to provide a generally ''''C'''' shaped cross-section, and the flanges of said lower part each have a downwardly extending hook shaped member engaging the inner surface of a said upwardly curved lateral edge of a ceiling panel. 